PurchasingProperty in Spain: the Legal Procedure Explained
So youve found your dream holiday home, arranged your mortgage in Spain and are now ready to complete the purchase
Buying property in Spain is highly regulated. The best thing you can do to protect yourself and your money is to hire an English-speaking lawyer or legal counsel to help you during the purchase and negotiation. Validate that the Spanish property you plan to purchase is free of restrictive clauses and debts.
The legal process for purchasing property located in Spain falls under two types of transactions. First you have the preliminary contract, or Contrato privado de compraventa, and then you have the completion contract, or Escritura de compraventa.
A preliminary individual sale bill should be signed after both sides agree to the cost. Before the Contrato privado de compraventa is signed, the vendor must show proof of ownership, and also proof that there are no liens or judgements against the property. The purchaser must pay the debts of their property as part of their %LINK2% agreement. Nota Simple tells about outstanding debts.
The preliminary sales contract will be drawn up to contain all of the necessary details including the date of completion, the purchase price and the description of the property. When you reach this point, you can expect to pay a deposit of 5-15%. This money is held for you in a secure customer account. You can sign the private preliminary sales contract and not put down a deposit but it is not advised.
Escritura de compraventa is otherwise known as the second or final contract stage. On the completion date, the balance of the price of purchase and all fees need to be paid by the purchaser. Both the vendor and the buyer must sign the contract at the same time. This contract is equivalent to a deed on the purchased property. In front of a Notary Public the buyer will receive the deed of conveyance which is known as escritura in Spain. To make this legal, a copy of the dded must get to a tax office, and then sent to a property registry. In Spain, all deeds of sale must be witnessed by a Notary Public, which is a public official in that country. However, you need to have your own legal counsel to protect your own interests during the transaction. Part of the fees for purchasing include property tax, and legal fees for your Notary Public.
